That is a lot of free music, and a very nice way to say "thank you" if you enjoy any of it is to go leave a comment in Music, where the median number of comments is probably something like 1 or 2, which is not a lot of love for a labor of love.posted by Wolfdog at 2:54 PM on February 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yay! And yeah I go back and leave comments on MeFiMu songs when I hear them come up in rotation. Comments don't close on Music threads so even if it's two years later you can still drop by and tell someone you liked their stuff.posted by jessamyn(staff) at 2:55 PM on February 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

even if it's two years later you can still drop by and tell someone you liked their stuff.

I encourage everyone who likes what they hear to do that. It's always nice to get feedback on one of the less-visited parts of the site, and given the number of talented folks that regularly contribute there odds are you probably missed something you'd like.posted by Hoopo at 3:15 PM on February 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Geez, I really should drop more comments in Music. I've been running a song-a-day podcast from it for just over a year now, but I've been shy about getting more attention for it. I always feel like I should write better there, & I keep getting sidetracked when I try to work out how to make something like "play the instrumental songs" workable.posted by Pronoiac at 3:41 PM on February 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I should devote a day to get listening and commenting on MeMusic, I know how much I crave feedback on my create efforts, and my crave I mean NEED TO LIVE.posted by The Whelk at 4:27 PM on February 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yea! This is great! I'll definitely check out your song-a-day, Pronoiac.posted by snsranch at 5:18 PM on February 6, 2012

Hoopo: “It's always nice to get feedback on one of the less-visited parts of the site, and given the number of talented folks that regularly contribute there odds are you probably missed something you'd like.”

This is very true; the amount of awesome stuff posted on Mefi Music is incredible, and you can really get lost in there wandering around in the great music. It's always good to let the talented folks who put it there know that you appreciate their tunes.

Of course, if you'd care to leave comments on songs posted by some of us talentless hacks, we'd appreciate it, too.posted by koeselitz at 5:30 PM on February 6, 2012

And getting a comment on one of my songs from The Whelk would be like Christmas all over again, only with less yelling and more child-like delight.posted by koeselitz at 5:34 PM on February 6, 2012

Good point koeselitz, I'm getting lazy and need to spend more time there myself. I'd disagree about the talentless hacks though; I'm still pretty stoked about that time I got to collaborate with someone who could play instruments!posted by Hoopo at 6:12 PM on February 6, 2012

It's not Christmas without the yelling.posted by pompomtom at 6:24 PM on February 6, 2012

It's not Christmas without the yelling sprouts.posted by arcticseal at 9:34 PM on February 6, 2012

I've been growing my vinyl collection lately. Is there a list of mefi members with LP/EPs out?posted by ODiV at 10:09 PM on February 6, 2012

I've always wanted to know how you go about putting out an LP or EP. How much does it cost? Do you have to put up a few thousand nowadays, or are there things that will just let you put them in a web store or something and press them to order?

I really want to actually do that someday. I guess I should ask about this in Music Talk.posted by koeselitz at 10:52 PM on February 6, 2012

I haven't priced it for a few years, but the last time I checked, a very basic 100-copy short run (12" black vinyl, white paper sleeve and label) ran about $1000. The print-on-demand model doesn't really work for vinyl, because the bulk of the cost is in setting up the master plates, and economies of scale don't really kick in until about 1000 units.

According to Wikipedia, "the average cost for manufacturing a 7" record with a picture jacket is approximately $2.50, at a run of one thousand records and jackets - if one uses any of the large manufacturing plants."posted by malocchio at 6:45 AM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Apparently that CDBaby thing now does vinyl, too. That always seemed skeevy to me, though.posted by koeselitz at 7:59 AM on February 7, 2012

I've never seen anyone who used CDBaby really raise a ruckus about them being horrible. (not that it hasn't happened, but) I know some folks who've used them, at least on-line-know them, and it seems like everything works out. They're a good path to the iTunes store for the tiny independent artists, too. They just require 5 CDs for your store & one to rip. The fees don't seem crazy-high, and I've been meaning to use them to push my old Whores EP, if I ever decide to finish it.posted by Devils Rancher at 8:34 AM on February 7, 2012

Yeah, I use CDBaby for distro, and I have no complaints, but then again, I'm pretty low maintenance. I do know people that prefer TuneCore because it's cheaper once you reach a certain level of sales, but I like that CDBaby just has the one-time flat rate. They've also been very prompt in issuing checks...of course I don't get enough of them, but that's my fault, not theirs.

I see that they now offer vinyl distribution, but I don't think they press vinyl yet.posted by malocchio at 9:03 AM on February 7, 2012

Ha, I've put out two singles on vinyl and I still basically have no idea how you do it.posted by unSane at 6:47 PM on February 7, 2012

Actually, if you started with Wolfdog's stuff, that would ruin the rest of it for you, as it's so good that the rest might seem shabby. If I were you, I'd start at the bottom of the pile and work your way up, so you can enjoy everything.posted by koeselitz at 7:34 AM on February 10, 2012

I just download the whole recent update, add it to iTunes and put it on shuffle. Then when I hear a song I like I go comment "Hey this is great" over on Music.posted by jessamyn(staff) at 7:35 AM on February 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I use iTunes' smart playlists; one to play everything (at least) once, and one to go over the ones I like, to perhaps bump the ratings up.

It would be awesome if someone made a recommendation engine for Mefi Music, based on similarities between playlists. I'd rather work on that engine than attempt to, say, comprehensively tag every song with genres. Am I the only one who kinda hates genres?posted by Pronoiac at 11:05 PM on February 13, 2012

I made a spreadsheet after the first torrent, so I could use mp3 tags to find the posts on Metafilter. I haven't updated it since, though; I'll try to dig up my tools for that.posted by Pronoiac at 3:36 PM on February 20, 2012

Here's the spreadsheet - it's updated through 2011, so you can look up songs with generic titles like "AudioTrack 01" or "Track 2" to properly thank their creators. If you're in iTunes, you can use "Get Info" to get the filename & directory - like "2006/07/" - which helps narrow down the search.posted by Pronoiac at 12:03 AM on February 21, 2012

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